


We Could Be Heroes

by litakelly



Series: Captain Canary [5]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 12:05:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14852417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litakelly/pseuds/litakelly
Summary: Sara questions what it means to be a hero, Leonard listens.





	We Could Be Heroes

_I, I will be King_  
_And you, you will be Queen_  
_Though nothing will drive them away_  
_We can be heroes just for one day_  
_We can be us just for one day_

Sara hurled a throwing dagger at one of the mannequins Ray used to hold his suit while doing modifications. She had it propped against the far wall in the loading bay amongst the weapons crates. She was attempting, with little success, to cool off from a fight she’d had with Rip. There’d been tension ever since he came back and they’d had to find a new dynamic with her as captain. He was forever trying to give her advice on what _he_ would do as captain, which was exactly the problem. Rip was no longer in charge and seemed to have trouble letting go.

“All that stress will kill you, you know” Leonard drawled from the stairwell. Sara spun around, startled that he’d been able to sneak up on her to find him standing with his hands up feigning surrender.

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he added cautious to not end up like the mannequin she’d been assaulting. She figured her league training must really be slipping, or perhaps that he no longer registered to her subconscious as a threat. She blew out an angry breath and threw another small dagger which lodged perfectly in the center of the dummy’s head and making it crack down the middle.

“Raymond will be heartbroken, I believe that one was his favorite,” he drawled sounding for all the world like he was discussing the weather. Sara pointedly ignored him and went to retrieve the knives to start again.

“So, what’re we brooding over?” He asked, allowing a hint more concern into his tone. To anyone else he might sound disinterested, but Sara could tell he was becoming worried.

“‘Not brooding. I don’t brood. Just... letting off steam,” she replied brusquely.

“Sara, I’ve seen you let off steam, been a part of it in fact, this is not that.” He crossed over to her and caught her raised hand just before she could throw another dagger.

She glared at him, “I’d take your hand off me if you want to keep it, Len.”

He stared back at her, never breaking eye contact, “only if you agree to talk to me.”

After a beat she gave a quick, small nod and he released her arm and stepped back before seating himself on a crate. He waited and simply watched while she gathered her thoughts, trying to figure out how to tell him why this particular fight had bothered her so much. Eventually she huffed a breath and tried.

“We’re not heroes,” she stated flatly. Leonard stared at her blankly, unsure where this was going. Sara felt he might make a snarky comment but pushed on.

“We have to make hard calls and protect the timeline, and we’ve done that. We’ve always worked to save the future with the least possible disruption to the past, and we’ve gotten good at it. Better than we were when we were taking down Savage, and then Rip just bailed. Which is fine,” she said, the word ‘fine’ sounding more like she meant the opposite. “But we figured it out. We made the hard calls, none of us were trained by an elite school to do this, but we got it done, and did it _better_.”

“And now Rip is second guessing all your decisions, making you wonder if you’re making the right choices,” he added calmly. She looked at him, amazed at how he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. “Had to happen eventually,” he shrugged, “you’re not a Time Master, but you’re doing the job of one, and doing it better. But you’re human, and questioning yourself is part of that.”

“You never seem to question yourself and you’re pretty damn human,” she muttered.

“I’m a special exception,” he teased, getting up to stand in front of her, “and honestly,” he averted his eyes, looking conflicted, “on the rare occasion, I do find myself having doubts,” he added a little quieter.

“I just wonder sometimes if the way we do this, choosing not to interfere, to be above it all, makes us no better than the Time Masters.” She deflated at that, looking weary and defeated. “We make decisions that leave people to die and let horrible things happen throughout history because it’s what time wants, but who are we really saving? Whose lives are any better?”

“We’re not heroes,” he repeated quietly, understanding her meaning from earlier.

Sara nodded weakly, “we leave people behind everyday, we—I make the decision to let people die everyday. To _not_ change history. To _not_ save my sister—“ she stammered, realizing how much she really has been holding onto.

Leonard pulled her into his arms and she tucked her head into his chest letting out a single quiet sob, then catching herself and gripping the front of his jacket tightly.

“You make the hard calls. For all of us. You play the bad guy when one of the do-gooders wants to play hero. I’ve never liked ‘heroes’,” Leonard sneered, the word a bad taste in his mouth, “Always putting their judgement before everyone else, deciding who is right and wrong. Spending half their time lecturing the world to follow the rules and the other half the time breaking them. But Sara, you make the hard calls even when they aren’t what you want to do. When you’re the one losing, and even when they make you the bad guy.” He paused and kissed the top of her head gently, “You’re a better hero than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Sara quieted and pulled back just enough to look up at him. His expression was completely serious, but also admiring, and with a certain tenderness he reserved just for her.

“You don’t have to be a hero all the time Sara, and you don’t have to make everybody happy. Just trust yourself and don’t let the voice of doubt shake you.”

She still couldn’t believe that uncanny knack he had for saying just what she needed to hear. For seeing all her doubts and insecurities and knowing exactly how to bypass every problem and get to the root of what was truly bothering her.

“Sure, we could be heroes, but that wouldn’t last forever. We can be legends,” he smirked at her.

She grinned at that, and added cheekily, “legends never die,” before leaning up to kiss him. He chuckled and returned the kiss, his arms settling low around her back as she moved her arms up around his shoulders. They relaxed into one another and kissed lazily, and Sara felt for once, that maybe they could be heroes.


End file.
